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This set is pretty much the best thing Durant can use to sweep! Durant can be a very effective ''Offensive Lead'', Hustle makes all moves 80% accurate, so just set one Hone claws to boost Durant great attack stat and acc. then just go for any STAB and put a hole in your opponent! Stone Edge (goes amazingly with hone claws) is to protect Durant from his only weakness (fire). I prefer lum berry over leftovers, because it let's me use one more hone claws on a status move!

I don't use "uber" Pokemon, I don't calculate stat values, I don't use cheating devices, I don't breed my way to perfection, and I don't care about natures. I catch my Pokemon the way they are, and treat them like individuals instead of brainless drones. If you use this philosophy, copy & paste this into your signature. (Started by Tyranitar)

Note: I decided to not post post that had cause hate to me anymore. If you see one, please PM me and I will delete the moment I'm aware and I'm online.
I need to take a break in the anime forum because these forum bored me.

Damn, it's good to be back doing this. Been putting it off forever, and then once I see that this week's PotW was Dunsparce, and I realized I missed my chance to weigh in on that epic Normal-type, I knew my return to this had to be immediate so I didn't miss out on anything else. Anyways, Durant is an often overlooked threat, likely due to the fact that it shares a type combination with Scizor, thereby forcing it to live forever in its shadow. It has awesome Speed and Attack, and Hustle only helps things out. Hone Claws complements the Hustle boost to Attack, and nullifies the Accuracy reduction. X-Scissor for STAB, and the other moves for coverage.

Item depends on whether you think Durant will be able to get in a Hone Claws or not. Ability I explained above.

This Durant is meant to be used with a Dugtrio on the team. Specifically, a Dugtrio with Arena Trap, and Protect/Hone Claws/EQ/Stone Edge. The idea is simple- when the opponent has out something that is not immune to Arena Trap and you are sure can KO this Durant in one hit, bring it in once something else is KO'd. Use Entrainment. Ideally, with the maximized Speed, Durant will go first, inflict Truant on the opponent, and then get OHKO'd (hence the Defense-lowering nature and lack of HP EVs). Then you bring in Dugtrio, and alternating between Protect and Hone Claws, set up for a massive sweep. Oh yeah. Other three moves are pure filler, by the way,

Item is for further insurance in seeing that Durant goes first. Ability is the entire premise here.

Other options:
*An interesting, if gimmicky, option would be to run Aerial Ace on a Hustle Durant, in case you won't be able to get in any Hone Claws boosts. Aerial Ace benefits from the Attack boost while ignoring the Accuracy drop.
*On the Hustle set, you could forego the item and Hone Claws in favor of a Choice Band and Superpower, but the accuracy drop from Hustle will still be in effect, making this an iffy option at best.

Abilities:
*Swarm: Durant gets a boost to its Bug-type moves when its HP is below 1/3rd. It's not that it's a bad Ability, it's just that everything else is better.
*Hustle: Durant's Attack is upped by x1.5 at the cost of a little bit of its Accuracy. An Ability with potential, great with Hone Claws, and something that can allow Durant to hit even harder. Very much recommended.
*Truant: Durant's Hidden Ability. Every other turn, Durant loafs around instead of attacking. Originally created to keep Slaking from rocking Ubers. I know Truant sounds like a bad Ability (because it is a bad Ability), but Durant has the means to do the best thing one can do with a bad Ability; inflict it on your opponent. Seriously, I think Truant is the entire reason Durant knows Entrainment. There's something to be said for the ability to cripple an opponent in such a manner.

Partners:
As mentioned above, Dugtrio is a force of death, destruction, and doom when paired with Truant Durant. You might also want something with a reliable Fighting move to handle Durant's fellow Steel-types. Or a Fire move. Durant can't do much to other Steel-types unless it's running Superpower.

Counters:
Special attacks, for one. In particular, a decent user of Vacuum Wave can screw over the Truant set completely. Durant's Special Defense is a joke, one of its few shortcomings. Also, Magneton and Magnezone can trap it with Magnet Pull and just do whatever, because unless it's running Superpower or (lol) Dig, Durant can't do diddly to them.

Opinion:
Heatmor and Durant are two of the coolest Pokemon Generation V has introduced, in my opinion. I just wish it could learn Earthquake. Seriously, a 72-pound iron ant can't shake the earth, but a 15-pound pine cone can? Someone explain that one to me. Please. Seriously.

The best Durant set there is. Set up hone claws, and everything runs at +2 att, and no acc loss. this makes it a dangerous sweeper. iron head and x scissor are STAB, and decimate anything. stone edge and thunder fang are coverage.

The dreaded Truant trapper strategy. use dugtrio or gothitelle along side it. entrainment gives the foe truant, which makes them pretty bad. switch out to the aformentioned, and let them set up (hone claws for dugtrio, calm mind for gothitelle). they protect inbetween turns, when the foe gets to attack. Iron head and x scissor are to ko threats, and then switch. stone edge causes chaos.

In doubles Durant can use entrainment to pass hustle to other physical attackers, or mess up special attackers, since they are doomed by the poor accuracy.

Durant. I love this thing, but it's so fragile VS Special Moves, especially with the prevalence of Fire-Type Special Moves. However, its Base 109 Speed means you'll likely outrun most Special-based-Fire-Type-Move users.

Abilities:
-Swarm isn't too bad, but the other options are often (if not always) better
-Hustle cranks anything that uses that sweet Base 109 Attack up to 11
-Truant, while otherwise useless, can screw with opponents so much with Entrainment

Durant's Movepool is small, but amazing. Hone Claws is a great Move to pair with Hustle Ability, practically negating the drop in accuracy after 1 use. Thunder Fang gives an option against bulky Water Types that aren't Ground Types, Iron Head and X-Scissor are decent STAB, and Aerial Ace, Shadow Claw, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, and Dig round it out nicely. Entrainment with any Ability, in the right circumstances, can wreck your opponent's strategies.

My only beef with Durant is simple: Base 58 HP + Base 48 Sp.Def + Special-based Fire-Type Move = an almost-guaranteed KO on Durant. On the other hand, Base 112 Defense is tanky enough for many Steel Types and the Base 109 Attack & Speed make it very threatening as a Physical Attacker - something very few Bug Types can do without Priority, Trick Room, or being Arceus.

Now for some counters: Lots of special moves can burn/shock/etc the ant. Trick Room screws him up bad and Tornadus-I can Taunt him to prevent Entrainment from working, allowing him to blow it away with Hurricane. Registeel resists all but Superpower and does what it does (I never used Registeel so I wouldn't know what works). Cobalion is in the same boat but can Focus Miss it away alongside.

Another Bug-Steel type that is inferior to Scizor. Or is it?
Durant is fast and hits hard thanks to Hustle. While there are some things that are desired in the movepool department, Durant has the required staples to be a very dangerous threat. With access to Hone Claws, Durant can patch up that accuracy drop that Hustle brings. Another awesome thing about Durant? Spell Check thinks Durant is spelled correctly!
However, Durant has flaws. The first is the very ability that makes Durant so dangerous: Hustle. That accuracy drop hurts. Also, look at Durant's bulk. Low HP and special defense will send Durant to the underworld quickly, and the high defense stat does not offer compensation for the low HP. Durant's movepool is an issue as well. Hustle compensates for the low-end power level of Durant's options, but the few high power options have problems. Stone Edge already has poor accuracy, which means Hone Claws will become a requirement if Stone Edge is chosen over Rock Slide. As for Superpower, the stat drops not only lower Durant's low bulk, but cancel out the benefits of Hone Claws.
In essence, Durant is not a splashable Pokemon. Its something with pinch value in higher tiers. In low tiers, Durant is extremely dangerous. Heatmor is supposed to eat Durant. Reality is, Durant is more likely to eat the predator.
Ability Selection:
Swarm: If the accuracy drop is that much of a turn-off, Swarm is not bad. It's not easy to get Durant in the right HP range though. Not only that, Durant could use extra power on ALL of its attacks.
Hustle: A power boost in exchange for an accuracy drop? Durant needs that power boost. It also makes Durant the best Hone Claws abuser. For all of the sets I make, I am implying Hustle is the chosen ability.
Traunt: The reason why Slaking sucks. Don't bother, even with Entertainment. If you lose because of a Traunt-Entertainment set, you need to go back to Pokemon 101.

A riskier route, given the lack of accuracy boost. Otherwise, its a great route. With Jolly and a Choice Scarf, you outrun Scarf Terrakion, letting you Iron Head the thing.

Ants have Claws?
Nature: Jolly
EVs: same as above
@: Life Orb/Wide Lens

Hone Claws
X-Scissor
Iron Head
Rock Slide/Stone Edge

With your accuracy problem patched up, Durant can let its high power be thrown and hit each target every time. Ballsy players can run Stone Edge over Rock Slide, but make sure you have a couple Hone Claws boosts under your...jaws? I don't know.

Other options:
Crunch is pointless. Iron Head takes care of Ghosts just fine.
If it wasn't a two-turn move, Dig would be welcomed.
Thunder Fang can get key hits on Water-Flying types like Gyarados that resist bug and steel, but that's what Rock Slide is for.

This set is really annoying. Basically, your goal is to use Entrainment and pass Truant onto the enemy. Chances are they'll switch, so after that just use Thunder Wave and Paralyze whatever comes your way. Once they've aquired Truant and Paralysis, just attack. I only use it in double-battles, partnered with a pokemon that fits these requirements: Can use Mean Look/has Arena Trap/has Shadow Tag, can take out fire-types, and is incredibly fast. They need to trap one opponent, preferably a wall that you need to break, and be able to take out all the treats to Durant's well-being, since it can't defend itself half the time. A good partner is essentially Dugtrio. It meets these requirements very well, and traps all opponents. Give it the best coverage you can and guard Durant! Endure is there to allow Dugtrio the use of Earthquake without risking the death of Durant.

This set is for the battle subway/PWT
As the trainers in these respective areas dont switch out their pokemon, this set can be used to great ability.
First, used Entrainment to switch Truant onto the opponent.
Use Protect every turn they are able to move, and hone claws when they are unable to move via truant
When you have sufficiently buffed up with hone claws, sweep! With the move of your choice

Alas, this set is destroyed by anything that is faster then durant, and can KO it.

Please, stop with that Entrainment gimmick, especially for Singles. It's so bad. Durant will keep having Truant even after Entrainment, and the opponent can just switch out and eliminate the ability. It's true that it is not a positive effect for the opponent, however, it cripples Durant too much as well, Entrainment is Other Options material, and I even think that may be too much.

Durant is a grat attacker thanks to Hustle and its awesome Speed, and it should stick to that. Every attacking set is much better than the noobie Entrainment one.

Please, stop with that Entrainment gimmick, especially for Singles. It's so bad. Durant will keep having Truant even after Entrainment, and the opponent can just switch out and eliminate the ability. It's true that it is not a positive effect for the opponent, however, it cripples Durant too much as well, Entrainment is Other Options material, and I even think that may be too much.

Durant is a grat attacker thanks to Hustle and its awesome Speed, and it should stick to that. Every attacking set is much better than the noobie Entrainment one.

Against other people, this is true. However, this is why Entrainment Durant is usually only recommended for the Battle Subway/PWT. The AI is too dense to switch, so Entrainment Durant can "set up" for another Pokemon in the team, usually one with Protect and a Boosting move. Once Durant gives the AI's Pokemon Truant, the other Pokemon just alternates between the two, protecting on an attacking turn, and boosting on a Truant turn, giving them nigh limitless time for setup.

But yes, against actual people, it's totally a gimmick that's never worth using under any circumstances since switching out to circumvent it is a no-brainer, and it gimps Durant as well. Heck, even against the AI it's still sort of a gimmick. *shrugs*

Last edited by KillerDraco; 25th March 2013 at 12:23 AM.

SMod, One of the writers for the PotW, and someone you'll be hearing from often if you fail to read the rules

Durant is one of those cute gimmicks of pokemon synergy or whatever: it and heatmor together make up an anteater and its prey. It's cute.
Durant itself, however, is not cute. It is deadly. It will eat you and kill you if given the chance. It has high Speed, tremendous Defense and great Attack. However, its moveset consists of X-Scissor, Stone Edge, and Iron Head, with the occasional Entrainment gimmick, so it kind of sucks. Also, it's Sp. Def is terrible, and it's weak to Fire types. Not a good combination by any means. On to abilities:

Swarm: Boosts Bug type attacks by 50% when on low health. Kind of useless, considering a) he doesn't have the bulk to get to low health and survive and b) he only has one good bug type attack. So no.Hustle: If you want to use Durant as an attacker, this is the way to go. Hustle boosts your Attack by 50% at the cost of 20% of your accuracy. With Hone Claws, this makes Durant killer.Truant (DW): This is where the gimmick comes in. On turn one, use Entrainment on your opponent. Now watch them suffer. Keep in mind, you're essentially wasting a space in your party for a gimmick. Not my favorite set, but it's funny to watch.

ATTACK MY PETS
-Hone Claws
-X-Scissor
-Iron Head
-Stone Edge
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Hustle
EVs and Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -Sp. Atk)
252 Atk/252 Spd
This set hits so hard it isn't even funny. After one Hone Claws, all of your attacks' powers are 3x as strong, which is incredible. If you can outspeed your opponent, they're dead for sure (probably). Not much to say. All of these attacks are the only attacks he can really use.

Other OptionsEntrainment and Truant, like I mentioned before. SO long as you have max Speed, you're good. Everything else is up to you.Choice Scarf is always an option, along with Superpower to hit hard and fast.

Countering Durant
Any Special Attack that he doesn't resist will destroy him. He has lackluster HP and pathetic Special Defense, making him easy prey to pokemon like Heatmor. Nothing to be too afraid of, except for Entrainment, which is really, really annoying.

Against other people, this is true. However, this is why Entrainment Durant is usually only recommended for the Battle Subway/PWT. The AI is too dense to switch, so Entrainment Durant can "set up" for another Pokemon in the team, usually one with Protect and a Boosting move. Once Durant gives the AI's Pokemon Truant, the other Pokemon just alternates between the two, protecting on an attacking turn, and boosting on a Truant turn, giving them nigh limitless time for setup.

But yes, against actual people, it's totally a gimmick that's never worth using under any circumstances since switching out to circumvent it is a no-brainer, and it gimps Durant as well. Heck, even against the AI it's still sort of a gimmick. *shrugs*

Well, Truant Durant should get a mention since this ant and any Pokémon with Protect+Stat boosting move (Swords Dance/Nasty Plot/Calm Mind...) can wreck the entire Battle Haxway all day long, now for the real thing, never try this in competitive play.

Oh no! Not this pokemon... I have a really bad memory when it comes to durant... I was playing competitively once and one trainer used one! I was yet to discover the entertainment-truant set but i was about to learn about it the very hard way! I lost miserably because of entertainment and I was so ignorant of the combo that i did not switch when i got truant and my opponent toyed me around... After that i was prepared and the combo did nothing than lose some stupid turns and eventually the opponent will find himself with scarfed hustle durant as his last pokemon! But still, it is a very bad memory!

Durant in it's own right is a very good pokemon! It has a great physical sweeper potential and a decent movepools, ability and typing to try to sweep! I use one in RU and it is doing great!

While gimmicky, use this to troll your opponent's special oriente poké, especially when having a annoying ability. Entrainment gives your opponent Hustle which, when they run special moves, just makes them miss more often. Combined with bright powder, you can troll the hell out of 'em. Also nice to cancel out Speed Boost, Toxic Heal, and Weather based abilities. Hone Claws to power up when succesfull, or to run the basic set in the first place. X Scissor for STAB, and Iron Head for stab and flinch ratio, to troll even more.

Say Uncle

Durant- Jolly Hustle Wide Lens
252 Attack 252 Speed and 4 HP

Thunder Fang
X-Scissor
Hone Claws
Substitute

My Durant differs from others posted only in Substitute. It often gets the chance to set up a Substitute, and Hone Claws till the sub collapses. Then it becomes a terror.
BTW- the truant one should get a mention. Anything to help in Battle Subway (I must try that!)